“Even when I don’t have my best stuff, I feel like I give us a chance to compete at least for the team.”
Driessen struck out nine in a three-hit shutout, and the red-hot Rams erupted for seven runs in the second inning on their way to a 10-0 mercy-rule victory over the Greater Catholic League Coed rival Fenwick Falcons at Alumni Field.
“The defense was behind me all day,” Driessen said. “It was a great game. We played a solid opponent with a very good arm. The bench was, as always, just up. We were getting after it today, and that’s what I love to see.”
Badin (12-3, 6-0 GCL Coed) has won 10 straight since its spring break trip to Florida and has won 12 of its last 13 against Fenwick (3-7, 0-2 GCL Coed). The Falcons last beat the Rams 7-3 on April 26, 2022.
“It’s something we talk about all the time. Today is the biggest day of our season,” Badin coach Brion Treadway said. “Whether that’s playing a game or practicing here against ourselves, so every day is the biggest game of our season. Once it’s over, we move on to the next one, and whatever we need to work on, we address. And we take the failures to get the feedback from them and improve them. But every day is the biggest game of our season, and we move on to the next day.”
Next up for Badin is a trip to Fenwick on Friday. The Falcons have a quick turnaround and host Franklin on Thursday.
“In a lot of ways, we’ve been harping all year that we need to take care of our jobs and play Fenwick baseball,” Falcons second-year coach Rob Goodale said. “It doesn’t really matter who is across from us, and if we do the things that we need to do, we do those things well. It doesn’t matter who our opponent is.
“Obviously, there’s a little higher energy when we come down here especially. But we didn’t do any of those things tonight that we need to do before we even worry about who we’re facing.”
Driessen gave up two of his three hits in the first two innings, but the Falcons couldn’t push a runner across the plate.
The Rams tallied two runs in the bottom of the first and then put up seven in the bottom of the second to give the right-hander some cushion on the mound.
“I thought Caleb started the game off a little rocky,” Treadway said. “I’m not sure his routine before today’s game was the same one that he’s been following. It seemed like he was a little rushed before the game. But Caleb Driessen is the man. Love having him on the mound for us.
“We don’t really care about our opponents. It’s about he’s got to own his time out there. It doesn’t matter who he’s throwing against. Every time he steps on the mound, he might not have his best stuff, but his routine should be his routine. I just think he was a little off pregame today. So, we’ll get that addressed. At the end of the day, Caleb Driessen always gives us a chance, and love seeing him compete on the mound.”
Badin had seven players collect hits — including senior catcher Kyle Anderson’s 2-for-2 performance. Austin Vangen went 1-for-2 with a walk, two runs and two RBIs.
“We knew a good pitcher was on the mound, so it was us just taking care of business in another GCL game,” said Vangen, a junior who played third base Wednesday. “We’ve just got to keep hitting as a team. I think we’re in a really good spot as a team — hitting, in the field. We’re all boys, just coming together each day for practice and games. We’ve got a good squad.”
Carter Williamson, Carter Shouse and Michael Kelchner accounted for the Falcons’ three hits.
Fenwick’s Abram Grandstaff went three innings on the mound, giving up nine earned runs on eight hits. The senior walked four before junior Caleb McMonigle took the rubber in the fourth.
“We hadn’t seen that yet,” Goodale said of Grandstaff. “He’s been really sharp all year. That’s a good ball club. We’ve got a lot of things we need to improve on still.
“We’re pretty young. We’ve got a lot of freshmen and sophomores in the mix. … We have the right guys in the right spots. We just need to perform better. We’re not as far as it would seem looking at our record. I think that we’re better than our record shows. This is only the second time all year that we haven’t really been in a game, and we really didn’t fight tonight — which was a little frustrating.”
Fenwick started off the season with five losses before picking up its first two victories against White Plains (N.Y.) on a spring break visit down south.
“We had a .500 trip to Florida last week,” Goodale said. “We saw some things that were pretty encouraging in terms of culture. Results aren’t quite there yet, but we’re building something that we think is going to make a difference in the long run.”
During their 10-game win streak, the Rams have outscored opponents 105-6 — including six shutouts and eight run rules.
“Our mindset is so in the present moment that we just don’t think about a winning streak or the other team,” Treadway said. “I have no idea what the other team has done because we are just so focused on what we do.”
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